Cases that fit Verizon's iPhone 4 may be in short supply
By Mark Milian, CNN
Astute observers may notice slight differences in the Verizon iPhone 4, above, compared with the one that's currently available.
(CNN) -- Visit any Apple Store, or one of those phone-accessory kiosks in the mall, and you'll find a wide selection of iPhone 4 cases.
But most of those won't fit the iPhone 4 for Verizon Wireless, which goes on sale February 10.
The Verizon iPhone, at first glance, looks identical to the one that's sold now by AT&T and 184 other carriers worldwide. But Apple had to shift some things around, apparently because of changes made to the phone's internal components to accommodate a cellular chip for Verizon's network.
Notches for the phone's antenna are in different places on the new model. More important, the volume buttons and mute switch on the side have been moved a tad farther from the edge.
These are fairly inconsequential changes for the user, but they throw a major curveball at case manufacturers, which must begin churning out thousands of new units in anticipation of the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon.
Case-Mate, one big manufacturer of gadget protectors, immediately went back to the design table after Verizon and Apple unveiled the slightly retooled iPhone 4 this month. The company added a new section to its website specifically to display cases for the Verizon version. The inventory there is much slimmer.
The company's soft, flexible cases have been tweaked to work with both versions of the phone, a Case-Mate spokeswoman said. The hard cases will have separate models designed for each carrier's phone.
One by one, Case-Mate is redesigning its various styles of protectors and listing them on the site. It has at least three ready now, "with several more to follow by the end of January, which consumers can be confident will fit the Verizon iPhone," the company told CNN in a statement.
But the firm didn't sound happy about it. A spokeswoman called the process "a necessary evil."
Element Case, a smaller accessory-design shop, says many of its cases for the iPhone 4 will still work. And because the company's operations are relatively small, making adjustments to the design process "is quite simple," said Jeff Sasaki, the company's founder.
"Our Vapor Case actually fits both designs perfectly, but we do plan on releasing a slightly modified version that will accommodate the small changes in the antenna design and button position," Sasaki said in a statement.
But these tiny manufacturing outfits may be at a disadvantage in a market where having products available at a blockbuster launch is crucial.
Innovez, which makes biodegradable covers for the iPhone 4, is at a standstill until the company can squeeze out some specifics from Verizon about the new phone's nuances.
"At this point in time we aren't sure," whether or when Innovez's cases will be updated to work with the new model, a spokesman for the company wrote in an e-mail. "Verizon hasn't informed us of the exact dimensions of their iPhone 4."
Apple's online store sells dozens of models of iPhone 4 cases, but as of Monday, none of them claimed to fit the Verizon iPhone as well.
A shortage of cases for the Verizon iPhone could be a problem, and not just for people looking to protect their shiny new devices from accidental damage. The cases also can improve cell reception.
During the new phone's announcement, Apple's interim leader, Tim Cook, didn't say whether Apple made changes to Verizon's iPhone 4 to address a hardware-design flaw that can cause current iPhone 4 models to drop calls when held a certain way.
But in a July news conference on that topic, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said his "pet theory" for why the iPhone 4 was dropping more calls than the iPhone 3GS had to do with a lack of cases available in stores at launch.
"When the iPhone 3GS came out, we did not change the design from the iPhone 3, and there was a healthy market (of cases) for the iPhone 3G that were already in stores that fit the 3GS perfectly," Jobs said. "iPhone 4 has a radically new design. None of the old cases fit."
He continued, "Since we didn't show it to anybody, none of the new cases are ready, and we can't make enough of our bumper cases. And I think that has something to do with this disparity."
It's not clear how stocked Apple Stores will be February 10 with cases that fit the Verizon iPhone. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Some online reports say Apple already has begun selling so-called "universal" bumpers designed with both models in mind.
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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